


It's Gonna be a Beautiful Night

by genevievedarcygranger



Series: Hotch x Garcia [9]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Cheesy, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Inspired by Music, Music, One Shot, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Short One Shot, Song: It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night (Prince), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29599998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genevievedarcygranger/pseuds/genevievedarcygranger
Summary: Garcia doesn’t expect much from Hotch on Valentine’s Day, but he proves her wrong.
Relationships: Penelope Garcia/Aaron Hotchner
Series: Hotch x Garcia [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862245
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	It's Gonna be a Beautiful Night

When Garcia started dating Hotch, she never expected anything extravagant. This was Hotch, after all. Though he was a classics man, he was very understated. He let his actions speak for themselves, but usually that meant things like commanding the presence of the room. That was for work, though. Outside of work, when it was just the team and occasionally a few others, Hotch let himself slip into the background, just out of focus, and he was Aaron.

* * *

It was during one of those little events – a party Garcia was hosting for some holiday or other as an excuse to get everyone together and their minds off of work while no one was injured – that Garcia started to notice him as more than an authority figure. She always knew he was handsome, and he was kind even if it wasn’t pronounced and more or less polite. But there’s was just something different about him that day.

_Searching for an excuse to check in with him as was her hostess duties, Garcia wandered over to him. “How are you, sir?”_

_He had one hand in his jean pockets, the other holding his red solo cup of punch. Hotch looked up at her from under his lashes and murmured so softly she could barely hear him over the others, “No need to call me that now, Garcia.”_

_“Well,” Garcia straightened her shoulders, “No need to call me that either then! Come on, have some cake. I haven’t seen you eat a bite.” Without waiting for an answer, she shoved a pre-cut slice of cake at him._

_Looking flustered, Hotch took it before he’d wear it on his polo. “Thank you, Penelope.”_

_She went warm all over and felt kind of gooey, too, like someone cracked an egg over the crown of her skull and the yolk just went on forever until it covered her whole body. “You’re welcome…Aaron.”_

* * *

It was that easy then for her to lower her guard around him more and more. The lines between Garcia/Hotch and Penelope/Aaron were blurred more often than not, usually right after a case, or before when they were still at the office. She liked it. It was different from Morgan, who she tried not to miss since he stepped away to be with his family. This new shift in the dynamics was a welcome change, and then it became something else entirely.

To no one’s surprise, Garcia acted first, thinking once again with her heart rather than her brain. She was the one to meet him at the jet after a case and pull him into a steamy embrace – in front of everyone. Again, she hadn’t really been thinking.

Surprisingly, though, it worked out. He had been waiting for her to take those steps, and once she had, all bets were off. They were together, and he was unabashedly happy about it. But there hadn’t been any fanfare from him. They were both adults after all. Neither one of them needed to shout it from the rooftops or hold hands to make it official. Besides, their first kiss was in front of the team. Everyone who really needed to know found out immediately… except for Jack. But Jack loved his Aunt Penny and he didn’t see much of a difference with the way things were before.

Still, Garcia knew what she was getting into when she started dating Hotch. She was the one with the extravagant wardrobe that could put a rainbow to shame; he was the one who wore a navy suit if he wanted to make a big statement. She was the one who skirted the edge of the rules with her flagrant flirting and hacking into sealed government files; he was the one who usually had a long-talk with the trouble-makers.

But they made it work! They balanced each other out. Hotch helped her be more assertive, and she helped him relax. Hotch kept her head level, and she helped him see the joy in life. Garcia loved their relationship, and more than that, she loved him. But she never would have thought that he’d go all out for her.

If anything, for their first Valentine’s together, Garcia expected a quiet dinner date somewhere. That expectation was blown out of the water as soon as she got to her Batcave and found a huge bouquet of flowers, all different kinds and all different colors. There were orange tiger lilies, purple irises, tiny little blue ones, white daisies, even two huge sunflowers. Hotch had gone above and beyond the standard dozen of red roses. Floored, Garcia plucked the card to confirm this was from her boyfriend and not some creepy admirer. Sure enough, it was Hotch’s spiky, nearly illegible script. _“You deserve the rainbow.”_ Garcia mumbled the words aloud to herself and then clutched the card to her chest. When she dipped her nose in the open blooms, she wanted to squeal her happiness into them but only just resisted.

Before Garcia could try to hunt Hotch down to thank him, he found her. Politely, he knocked on her office door and waited for her to answer. He greeted her first by passing along a coffee for her and a large blueberry muffin whose top was overflowing the paper bottom. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said softly, as if afraid they would be overheard.

For once, Garcia didn’t hone in on the food but instead clasped her palms to his cheeks and brought him down for a kiss. “Happy Valentine’s Day! Oh, my goodness! This is all for me?”

Hotch just tilted his chin down at her, looking ridiculously stern despite the pink lipstick smeared around his mouth. “Your coffee is getting cold.”

Playfully, Garcia huffed and swatted his chest before she finally accepted her breakfast. “Lipstick check!”

Swiping one of the napkins Hotch had wrapped around the muffin, he wiped vigorously at his mouth. “Thank you. I’ll see you for lunch.”

“You most certainly will, handsome. Try not to work to hard!”

* * *

Garcia herself did not work hard. She let her computer do most of the work. It was Valentine’s Day, after all, so she had her rounds to make dropping off homemade cards and one of those cliched but cute little heart-boxes of chocolates. When it came time for lunch, when she planned to give Hotch his own card and gift, Anderson came to her office instead.

“I’m sorry, Garcia. Hotch told me to tell you that he’s in a meeting, and it won’t be over for a while.”

Even though Garcia knew it was only lunch, she wilted a little. Before she could look too upset, though, Anderson added, “He did say that we could order lunch on his card for everyone instead! His treat.”

Garcia snorted and gently tapped what would be her knuckles but was really one of her large costume-jewelry rings to Anderson’s shoulder. “You just want to order Thai food, don’t you?”

Shameless, he shrugged. “Hey it’s not like I’ve got a big hot date for Valentine’s. This is my big treat.”

Quirking her lips up in a smile, more for his sake than as a reflection of her true feelings, Garcia quipped, “Thai food it is, then! Go tell the others and I’ll call.”

* * *

Instead of holing herself up in her office, Garcia had lunch with the others in the conference room since it wasn’t in use. She tried to put as much of her normal exuberance into it as possible, but she just wasn’t feeling it. They both knew that this was one of the issues about their work. The timing was never in their favor, and they were usually on the clock more than they were off of it. But they thought they could make it work, and it wasn’t true fraternization since they wouldn’t be sharing hotel rooms; Garcia rarely had to go into the field.

It was the bureaucratic nonsense, the kind of red-tape that Garcia used her hacker scissors on with glee, that got in the way. Privately, Garcia wondered if Hotch would make the same mistakes with her as he did with Haley and then immediately felt guilty for her selfishness. Pushing away her carton of takeout, Garcia made her excuses before wandering back to her office again.

For the rest of the afternoon, Garcia buried herself in work much like Hotch regularly does. She even did the icky stuff that she told herself to save until after the holiday, which included work from the Violent Crimes Against Children part of the Bureau. By the time six o’clock rolled around, Garcia’s head swam with bloody images and her stomach was a mess of knots and nausea.

Just as she was shutting down her computers, she heard a phone ring and automatically reached for the office phone. Her hand dropped halfway once her brain registered her customizable ringtone – Lady Gaga, of course – and then she was digging around in her purse for her bedazzled phone. She was so rushed that she answered without checking the caller I.D. “Hello?” She spoke into the mouthpiece, frazzled.

“Hi,” Hotch’s voice was soft. It was his Aaron-voice. She recognized it. “I was just wondering if you still wanted to come over for dinner tonight.”

Garcia blinked the fuzziness away. “Wait, you already left the office? Really?”

Aaron’s voice sounded small, but steady all the same as he explained, “I left two hours early so I could pick up Jack from school and spend some time with him. He’ll be at Jessica’s tonight.”

Picking up her purse, Garcia hitched it over her shoulder. “We should really set Jessica up on a date,” she mumbled as she locked up her office. As soon as she stepped out of it, she started fast-walking – not running – as quickly as she could in her electric pink stilettos with the fuzzy toe-tips.

That drew a chuckle from him. “I’ll leave that in your hands, Penny.” He trailed off and then asked again in that hesitant way he had, where his voice was a tad higher pitched than usual, “So do you still want to have dinner with me? I know I missed lunch with you, and I’m sorry about that.”

Penelope cut him off, “Aaron, you don’t have to make anything up to me. You’re going to have meetings. It’s part of your big boss man job. We knew this would happen.”

“I know,” he didn’t whine, because he wasn’t the type, but from any other man it might have been. “But you still haven’t answered my question.”

By now, she had made it to the parking lot where she was hunting for Esther. She never could remember where she parked; Hotch told her that that was a little dangerous, and they both knew that with their jobs, but Garcia let it slide since she was parked at the Bureau. “Right, that’s one of your profiler things.”

“Penelope,” Aaron huffed, tone still laced with amusement, though by now Garcia was familiar with that same underlying thread of insecurity. “Please. Come have dinner with me.”

Finally finding her Esther, Penelope pulled out her keys and unlocked her car. Though Aaron couldn’t see it, she was grinning into the mouthpiece as she balanced her phone between her cheek and shoulder. “Aaron,” she teased, “are you asking me to be your Valentine?”

If it were possible, Penelope could’ve heard his blush over the phone. “Yes, I am. I’m asking you to have dinner with me on Valentine’s Day, so yes, you’re my Valentine. But you’ll have to share me with Jack. He asked me first.”

Penelope laughed, “Yeah, he asked you and probably his cute third-grade music teacher Miss Schultz.” She cranked the car and let it idle and heat up.

“And Jessica,” Aaron admitted. “What about you? Has anyone else asked you to be their Valentine?”

“Just this cute, dark-haired guy. You might know him. He’s a little shy. Always wears these sexy suits like he thinks he’s James Bond.”

Instead of allowing himself to be baited into it, Aaron hummed.

“His name is Grant Anderson,” Penelope deadpanned.

That finally drew a laugh out of Aaron. “Oh. Well, I understand if you have other plans…” he trailed off meaningfully. 

“Nice try. I’m just about to pull out of the parking lot so I should see you in about… thirty minutes? Forty-five with traffic?”

“I’ll see you when you get here. Be safe.”

Penelope rolled her eyes with some fondness. “I will, Valentine.”

* * *

She made it to Hotch’s new house in the suburbs in approximately forty-three minutes. The lights were on, and since she had her own key, she let herself in with a small bustle of activity, shucking off her purse and her shoes. Hotch didn’t like shoes in the house if he could help it. It was something he got from Haley. Penelope didn’t mind the rule at all. She was grateful to get out of her heels at the end of the workday, even if she was just sitting at her computer all day. “Aaron? I made it!”

“In the kitchen,” he called.

Penelope followed the sound of his voice. The closer she got to the kitchen, the more she could hear… music. Aaron was playing music, and for once it was his original record of _The White Album_. It sounded like… Prince, actually. _Sign ‘O’ the Times_. She smiled. That was her favorite album.

And she could smell… peppers and onions. The scent was so strong that her eyes might have watered if she were standing over the frying pan. The sizzle was low beneath Prince’s croons about a beautiful night. She sighed as she rounded the corner into the kitchen. “Aaron, honey, you’re doing all of this for me?”

To his credit, Aaron did not startle at her entrance, concentrating on not singeing his fingertips as he lit a candle at the kitchen table. He looked up at her over the flame with a crooked little smile. “Why do you always sound surprised when I do something for you, Penny? Do I not do it often enough?”

She held out her arms the whole time she walked around the table to embrace him. “You’re just full of surprises.” As soon as he was within her grasp, she latched onto him, burying her face into his chest. He had taken off his coat and his tie, and switched out his slacks for a pair of jeans, but the white button down was the same. The smell of his cologne, aftershave, sweat, and deodorant all mingling together was perfect, even if he smelled a little bit like peppers and onions, too.

Aaron’s strong arms wrapped around her like a secure steel band. He rested his cheek on top of her head, their height difference emphasized without her heels. The smell of her shampoo and perfume, overly citrus and fruity, was his favorite smell in the world, besides coffee. He closed his eyes and sighed. “You haven’t even eaten dinner yet.”

“I love it anyway, Aaron,” she mumbled into his chest. She leaned back only far enough to smile at him before she started leading him around in little circles, dancing like they’re two awkward teenagers at prom. He let her lead, spun her around, laughed with her until he remembered dinner and had to leap away to save it from burning. That only made her laugh harder.

And as she kept laughing, giggling over her wine glass, cooing over the ridiculously big petal pink teddy bear he bought for her on a whim when he was grocery shopping for dinner. All the while he wondered… if this was too soon or too sudden, if he should go find his suit jacket and rummage through the breast pocket for the little jewelry box that he had been lugging around him everywhere for the past two months like a child with a security blanket. It wasn’t until Penelope led him to bed with that impish smile, her tongue pinched between her teeth, her lipstick all smeared off between the wine glass and fork and his own mouth, that he decided… maybe it should wait. She deserved another beautiful night to remember.


End file.
